VANCOUVER — On some nights — make that many nights — Nazem Kadri can’t help but be the eye of the hurricane.

And there are plenty of storm chasers awaiting him here Saturday night. This will be the first meeting of the Maple Leafs and Canucks since the Nov. 5 bust-up on Bay St., where Kadri’s blindside hit on Daniel Sedin triggered fights, ejections, goalies going rogue and threats of bodily harm.

On a young team still finding its way, Kadri is at his exemplary best when assigned to harass the opponent’s best centres, defencemen and goaltenders, such as in two wins over Connor McDavid and the Oilers. But when he crosses the line, he comes on peoples’ radar — if not NHL Player Safety, then NHL frontier justice.

The effects from last month are going to carry over at Rogers Arena, a mere matter of whether it’s a Category 1 to 5. Many think it will be the former, with the league quietly cautioning both teams before puck drop.

“There is definitely going to be some hostility, but we definitely play better under that kind of pressure,” Kadri said at the start of this Western Canadian road trip. “Especially myself. I don’t mind it at all. You have to be hard on good players.”

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Kadri has spent his entire career making enemies on the ice, but when he backs it up with his own offensive contributions, it grates on foes even more. Abuse from the stands is just part of the package.

“That doesn’t make too much of a difference to me,” Kadri said. “I just care about this organization and the guys in this room. Whatever I can do to help them get wins and be successful, I’m going to do. Opposing players and fans aren’t really a priority with me.

“That grittiness is part of my game, something I relish and embrace. I use it sometimes to get myself in games, physically and emotionally.”

Which is fine with coach Mike Babcock, particularly when Kadri brings others along for the ride. But Wednesday’s wimpy start in Calgary — a 3-0 loss in which Kadri’s line, picked to start the game, was subsequently burned on a first-shift goal — was a sign of team immaturity, as well.

The coach could sense a letdown coming on Wednesday after the big win in Edmonton, his team caught looking ahead to Vancouver.

“I’d like to get them fired up every night,” Babcock said of what Kadri brings. “What will get them going? You can’t sleepwalk through games (that have no bad blood built up). You have to get yourself prepared.

“Sometimes the opposition can do that for you, but your job is to do it for yourself.”

Many Leafs admitted they got full of themselves after beating the Oilers, who are considered the NHL’s better up-and-coming team.

“When we get a few wins strung together, we get a little excited,” Kadri said. “We have to keep level headed.”

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The Canucks will likely be the ones guarding against over-exuberance on Saturday.

“Every referee has a standard, and usually in the first few minutes, that standard is established,” Kadri said. “You start to understand what you can and can’t do, with what you can and can’t get away with.”

He added that most teams value two points more than avenging an old score.

The Leafs had Thursday off here, then likely get a hard practice of refresher courses from Babcock after his warning about the Flames’ capacity for a quick start fell on deaf ears. The Leafs will have Frederik Andersen back in net, the most consistent player in a month of November that yielded a record of 8-5-1 and great strides for the seven rookies in the lineup. But they can’t rely on him every night.

“(Wednesday’s start) shows you you’re not an upper-echelon team,” Babcock said. “So our preparation as a team, as a coaching staff, isn’t at a high enough level. So we have some work to do. That shouldn’t surprise anybody.”